After about 3 1/2 years of obsessing on brewing, then a few months of stepping back, still brewing but not obsessing... this year I'm going to work on balance. Brew when I want and what I want, fish when I want, ride my Harley when I want... adding in a dash of gardening, bbqing, noodling around on stringed instruments, camping, checking out the total eclipse etc.

I'm glad I went crazy on brewing and learned what I learned, but now I'm enjoying just enjoying it.

Yes. I took my step back last year and then again this past summer. It's a wonderful hobby, but balance is key. I miss fishing (in fact I didn't buy a license this year), so that's also a goal of mine for next year.

If an obsession exists this year it will probably be fishing. I have both washington and Oregon license, and I recently got into fly fishing. In particular, two handed spey casting Skagit heads, swinging flies for stealhead. So far no fish but at least I've gotten to where I can cast the thing lol. With January coming i am looking forward to the winter runs on the Hood and Washougal.

I love how styles of fishing changes by region. There's nowhere to really catch any native trout around here. Just stocked if you want to deal with that nonsense. I hope to spend more nights on the banks of the Ohio River in search for that monster flathead or make a couple walleye or perch trips to Lake Erie. My grandfather passed away 10 days ago. He and I fished almost every day when I was younger. We spoke on thanksgiving... neither one of us got a license this year. That didn't sit well with me. I owe it to him to get out and drown some worms next year..... Of course with a home brew in hand

We're planning on moving states in 2018 so my goals for 2017 mostly involve winding down my current brewing and using the ingredients I have on hand without buying much more. I'd rather move beer than grain so I'll have something to drink while getting settled into a new living environment.

My 2017 beers will mostly be dialing in working with my mixed saison culture, brewing a little more spontaneously fermented beers (very early 2017), a few more sour beers and a handful of hoppy beers to exhaust some of the hops in the freezer.

We're planning on moving states in 2018 so my goals for 2017 mostly involve winding down my current brewing and using the ingredients I have on hand without buying much more. I'd rather move beer than grain so I'll have something to drink while getting settled into a new living environment.

My 2017 beers will mostly be dialing in working with my mixed saison culture, brewing a little more spontaneously fermented beers (very early 2017), a few more sour beers and a handful of hoppy beers to exhaust some of the hops in the freezer.

To what region are you moving?

Denver

Jealous, I'd love to live around that area. Why don't I? I'm 33, not married, no kids, no set career...wtf? I gotta makes some gawd d@mn changes!

We're planning on moving states in 2018 so my goals for 2017 mostly involve winding down my current brewing and using the ingredients I have on hand without buying much more. I'd rather move beer than grain so I'll have something to drink while getting settled into a new living environment.

My 2017 beers will mostly be dialing in working with my mixed saison culture, brewing a little more spontaneously fermented beers (very early 2017), a few more sour beers and a handful of hoppy beers to exhaust some of the hops in the freezer.

To what region are you moving?

Denver

Jealous, I'd love to live around that area. Why don't I? I'm 33, not married, no kids, no set career...wtf? I gotta makes some gawd d@mn changes!

I lived there a long time ago [Golden area] and hated it, couldn't wait to GTFOOD! To be fair, there are a whole lot worse places though.

Logged

I spent most of my money on beer, tools and guns, the rest I foolishly squandered on stupid stuff!

Years ago, I had a goal for 2017 to build a pump-driven, all-electric, mobile brew stand. But it's possible we'll be moving (in the same town, most likely) and after changing homes twice since I started brewing in 2009, I know that what I need for effective brewing changes with every home.

My goals are to brew more frequently (I should be able to do that by March) and start playing with water. Every time I say I'm going to do that (get RO water, use various salts, etc.) I chicken out and go for filtered water from our fridge dispenser with a piece of Campden tablet. I don't know why I have such a mental block. Yes, it takes a while to get enough water through that dispenser, though I brew 3-gallon batches, and it's faster than driving to the store for spring water.

I was going to get in a brew last Sunday but we didn't get to the LHBS in the city we were in on Saturday, which scotched that plan. But I'm off for 12 days starting tomorrow and at least one of them will be a brew day.

I don't know why I have such a mental block. Yes, it takes a while to get enough water through that dispenser, though I brew 3-gallon batches, and it's faster than driving to the store for spring water.

It's really pretty easy, at least you know you're starting with a blank slate. For your purposes, RO from the store and a teaspoon or a bit less of calcium chloride or gypsum would be all you need along with some way to acidify the mash depending on the beer you're brewing. Simple way to get into building your own water profiles.

I should've mentioned that for a resolution, I'd like to get a stout faucet setup and start brewing more styles for that. I've imagined having black IPA on nitrogen for a long time now. As well as just bring the fun back into brewing by doing it because I enjoy it not to keep beer on tap. And also keep my consumption moderate. Brewing and drinking is supposed to be fun and add to your life, not take away from it.

We're planning on moving states in 2018 so my goals for 2017 mostly involve winding down my current brewing and using the ingredients I have on hand without buying much more. I'd rather move beer than grain so I'll have something to drink while getting settled into a new living environment.

My 2017 beers will mostly be dialing in working with my mixed saison culture, brewing a little more spontaneously fermented beers (very early 2017), a few more sour beers and a handful of hoppy beers to exhaust some of the hops in the freezer.

To what region are you moving?

Denver

Jealous, I'd love to live around that area. Why don't I? I'm 33, not married, no kids, no set career...wtf? I gotta makes some gawd d@mn changes!

The housing prices are rough but otherwise why not? So much good beer.

I lived there a long time ago [Golden area] and hated it, couldn't wait to GTFOOD! To be fair, there are a whole lot worse places though.

We're looking at areas closer to downtown if we can find something in our price range that is large enough for my wife's demands. I really don't want to live in the suburbs. I've lived in suburbs my entire life. We don't have kids so there's no draw to find good schools or a quiet neighborhood.

My new years resolution: Beer Edition is to get back to my brewing schedule of one 5g batch a month. I haven't had a serious brew day in almost a year, so I need to get going for real. I did buy a new pot and burner, so I can do a full-boil in one pot now, and get it up to a boil quicker. Getting that Keggerator full is going to be a big priority.

We're planning on moving states in 2018 so my goals for 2017 mostly involve winding down my current brewing and using the ingredients I have on hand without buying much more. I'd rather move beer than grain so I'll have something to drink while getting settled into a new living environment.

My 2017 beers will mostly be dialing in working with my mixed saison culture, brewing a little more spontaneously fermented beers (very early 2017), a few more sour beers and a handful of hoppy beers to exhaust some of the hops in the freezer.

To what region are you moving?

Denver

Jealous, I'd love to live around that area. Why don't I? I'm 33, not married, no kids, no set career...wtf? I gotta makes some gawd d@mn changes!

We're planning on moving states in 2018 so my goals for 2017 mostly involve winding down my current brewing and using the ingredients I have on hand without buying much more. I'd rather move beer than grain so I'll have something to drink while getting settled into a new living environment.

My 2017 beers will mostly be dialing in working with my mixed saison culture, brewing a little more spontaneously fermented beers (very early 2017), a few more sour beers and a handful of hoppy beers to exhaust some of the hops in the freezer.

To what region are you moving?

Denver

Jealous, I'd love to live around that area. Why don't I? I'm 33, not married, no kids, no set career...wtf? I gotta makes some gawd d@mn changes!

The housing prices are rough but otherwise why not? So much good beer.

I lived there a long time ago [Golden area] and hated it, couldn't wait to GTFOOD! To be fair, there are a whole lot worse places though.

We're looking at areas closer to downtown if we can find something in our price range that is large enough for my wife's demands. I really don't want to live in the suburbs. I've lived in suburbs my entire life. We don't have kids so there's no draw to find good schools or a quiet neighborhood.

Yes but the suburbs on the west side are closer to the foothills and front range. Also easier to get to Boulder from that side IME. If you like the outdoors places like Lakewood and Golden are closer. If you work downtown, nevermind- better live downtown as rush hour sucks.